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| Polka-dots are enough to trigger panic in some people. Photo: Li Hao/GT |
In a secluded corner of a café with romantic music playing, Li Yongxin couldn't look straight at his blind date. It wasn't because Li is a coward, or because she was far out of his league. Li was scared of her white dress with thick polka dots.
Li, 29, suffers from trypophobia, the fear of objects covered with holes in small, geometrical patterns, such as beehives, ant colonies and lotus seed heads.
Li's trypophobia may have ruined that first date - or maybe not. But the fact is, he's pretty troubled. "I am even afraid of looking closely at strawberries, papaya fruit seeds, and the air holes in cupcakes. I'll have goose bumps, my scalp gets numb, and I feel nauseated," said Li.
Li is hardly alone in his quirkiness. Some people like hoarding useless items, some are afraid of bees, some bite their nails all the time, and some cannot stop pulling out their hair. People have many conditions that fall between tics and clinical symptoms, which are varied, interesting and not that rare.
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